paris Tag Archives

There must be something in the air that pushes curators to explore themes of vulgarity, shocking, taste and scandal in fashion. Maybe because of our political contexts, is there an urge to remind spectators how a “revolution” can be imperative…Besides Judith Clark’s The Vulgar, Fashion Redefined, at the Barbican, in London, was proposed, here, in Paris, an exhibition dedicated to what has been considered scandalous …

A new year is beginning and thus comes an array of new exhibitions announced for 2017, in Paris…Quite an eclectic panorama with a spotlight on foreign cultures and designers. At the end of 2016, opened Tenue Correcte Exigée: Quand le Vêtement Fait Scandale, at the Arts Décoratifs. An exhibition that clearly echoes that of the Barbican, The Vulgar. What Parisians have preferred to analyse here, …

In 2013, I wrote a celebratory post about the relationship between ballet and fashion, and, reading it again today while preparing this article, there is not a word I would change and I am glad I can now add this new insight on a subject that is so dear to me. I don’t know why but there is something that clearly links Christmas and New …

There are some photographers that are closely linked to a certain 1990s glamour and sensuality – Herb Ritts is one of them. In an exhibition that has just closed its doors at the MEP (Musée Européen de la Photographie), the photographer’s work was meticulously analyzed, from his iconic celebrity and fashion portraits to his musical videos and his African memorabilia. With Herb Ritts it’s a …

I used to spend hours playing with my Barbie dolls as a child and young teenager, dressing them up, undressing them, making them celebrate parties, go to the beach, fall in love and even suffer from terrible accidents (why do children always have this thing with making their toys endure the most tragic events?)…When I heard about the Arts Décoratifs’s exhibition dedicated to the famous …

The first major concept fashion curators come across while studying, is that of the relationships that exist between garments and bodies, thus wearers. It is a reflection that follows all professionals analyzing fashion history and how they could display it, enhancing or, on the contrary, denying its previous existence, that of a worn piece of clothing. I had written in my previous post how different …

Each time a fashion exhibition opens somewhere in the world, the great and timeless debate concerning the legitimacy of such displays is questioned. Does fashion deserve to be in museums? Is fashion, art? Are fashion blockbuster exhibitions purely mercantile? When are exhibitions intelligent versus commercial? I must say, I usually apprehend these debates because as an art and fashion historian and curator, to me there …

It must have been a very long time since I visited an interpretation museum, mostly keeping those pedagogic explorations for my childhood holidays. Yet I challenged my habits by discovering Paris’ Tour Jean Sans Peur’s display dedicated to Fashion in the Medieval Times. A 15th century tower, the Tour Jean Sans Peur now serves as an interpretative center in order to comprehend and reflect upon …

What I love most about my job is that I learn something new every single day. How lucky I am to discover at all times, a new artist, an unusual personality, an extraordinary story or an interesting space. By visiting the Antoinette Sasse exhibition, I got the chance to combine all four. The exhibition whose title is quite explicit (Antoinette Sasse – Rebel, Resistant and Patron) …

Rare are the fashion exhibitions that not only address your literary souvenirs but also real life. At the Palais Galleria, just ended La Mode Retrouvée, dedicated to the Countess Greffuhle’s wardrobe, one of the museum’s most important historical collections. I was very impatient to visit this show as I had often heard about this mysterious collection during my studies at l’Ecole du Louvre and having …